‘I truly believe miracles do happen': Graphic video shows car striking trooper

Editor's note: The video may be disturbing for some viewers.LOGAN — Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Cade Brenchley’s voice began to crack as he recalled the moment he was struck by a vehicle while responding to a crash in Sardine Canyon Sunday.

Graphic dashcam video released by the Utah Department of Public Safety Tuesday shows the harrowing moments.

Brenchley exited his squad car wearing a neon reflective vest and approached a white sedan that had slid off state Route 91 in snowy weather. Seconds later, a black sedan slides and strikes the trooper, catapulting him into the air before he lands in a heap next to the white sedan.

“I’ve watched the video, I’ve watched it a couple of times. I truly believe miracles do happen,” Brenchley said Tuesday, with his wife, Lindsay, and his four children by his side at Logan Regional Hospital.

Brenchley, a 13-year veteran of the highway patrol, suffered four broken ribs and a broken scapula from the accident. He also suffered some road rash burns on his face.

During a press conference Tuesday, he recalled the moments before the accident. The highway was snowy and slick Sunday before the crash. He stopped at the white sedan because no responders had reached that vehicle yet. He checked traffic and stepped out of the vehicle.

That was the last memory he had.

The driver of the white sedan attempted to alert Brenchley of the oncoming car, UHP Lt. Lee Perry said. However, the second vehicle was moving too fast.

Brenchley said everything seemed “like a dream” until he came to and noticed he was lying in the snow with people around him. That’s when he realized he had been struck by a vehicle.

As he lay on the ground, Brenchley was able to instruct a bystander to use his car radio to call for help. The bystander accidentally used the wrong radio, but was able to get ahold of another trooper who relayed that information to emergency dispatch.

Brenchley said three of the responding EMS workers were also his cousins.

The driver who struck him, described as a college-aged woman, stopped and was “distraught,” Brenchley added. He said she apologized at the scene and also visited him at the hospital afterward.

“She made a mistake,” he said, while pleading for the driver to not be vilified. “I think she won’t make that mistake again.”

Logan police have since taken over the investigation of the accident. It remains under investigation before charges, if any, are filed.

Gov. Gary Herbert posted a photo on Twitter of him calling Brenchley Monday.

In releasing the dashcam video, Department of Public Safety officials hope it will remind drivers to slow down and give first responders room while they are on the road — especially during inclement conditions.

Sunday's incident is the 11th trooper hit on the road this year, according to the department. In 2017, 10 troopers were hit.

“We’ve got to pay attention to what’s going on around us. When there’s snow on the road, you just need to check your ego and just slow down,” Brenchley said. “We all have the common goal of getting to where we’re going safely.”

Lindsay Brenchley pulled out her phone and recorded media members to see their reactions as they watched the video for the first time Tuesday. The graphic video, she said, is an example of what happens when motorists don’t slow down in slick conditions.

“It’s a useful tool so people can just slow down,” she said.

While he was amazed he survived, Brenchley began to tear up thinking of how it could have been a much worse outcome.

He said the incident reminded him of his colleague, Utah Highway Patrol trooper Eric Ellsworth, who died after being struck by a car while trying to alert drivers of a sagging power line in 2016.

“It took my friend Eric’s life,” he said, pausing to collect his thoughts. “I don’t think there’s any doubt it probably should have taken mine, but luckily for me, I have a brother in heaven that’s watching my back.”

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